| India holiday welcomes you on your tour package | | | | at its most idyllic, with roaring rivers, pretty |
| to kullu, manali, shimla. These are most popular | | | | mountain villages, orchards and terraced fields, |
| and easily reachable hill stations of himachal | | | | thick pine forests and snow-flecked ridges. Kullu, |
| pradesh in india. An apparent way to reach the | | | | the valley’s capital since the mid-seventeenth |
| state is to head north from delhi to the state | | | | century, became district headquarters after |
| capital. shimla, beyond the green and temperate | | | | independence. Kullu makes a useful transport hub |
| valleys of sirmaur. Shimla, the former summer | | | | if you are travelling onwards to the parvati valley, |
| resort of the british government, is a curious, | | | | and there are several temples dotted around |
| charming mix of grand homes, churches and | | | | town, that provide excellent views of the valley. |
| chaotic bazaars, with breathtaking views. Kufri, | | | | In october, the city takes on a life of its own as |
| 22km from shimla is a well-known attraction | | | | the entire population of the valley comes to the |
| around shimla and becomes the hottest place in | | | | town to celebrate dussehra festival. |
| winter, as everyone lands up here to ski and | | | | Himachal’s main tourist resort, manali stands |
| throw snowballs at each other. The hills come to | | | | at the head of the kullu valley, 108km north of |
| live with the shouts of young voices as kids pelt | | | | mandi. |
| snowballs at each other and make snowmen. Ski | | | | Manali is always the first choice for honeymoon |
| enthusiast from across the country drift from the | | | | couples all over the country and for people who |
| snowy fields of kufri to narkanda in search of the | | | | have never seen or touched snow in their lives. |
| finest ski slopes on which to flaunt their expertise. | | | | People who have come for the first time can |
| For non-skiers, there are the serene yak rides or | | | | start their sightseeing tour of manali by visiting |
| the screaming delight of tobogganing. Another | | | | the 16th century hadimba devi temple, the hot |
| nearby destination is fagu which you could include | | | | springs at vashisht, and old manali, the original |
| into your kullu-manali-shimla tour itinerary.fagu is a | | | | settlement and now a hippie enclave full of |
| marvelous typical himachali village that overlooks | | | | inexpensive guesthouses. You may also visit the |
| the giri valley. You can also go for the 03km trek | | | | temple of the law-giver manu in old manali, or |
| from fagu to chharabra. Fagu is also the entry | | | | head up the snowy slopes to windy rohtang pass. |
| point for kinnaur and spiti, and is an ultimate | | | | Rohtang pass serves as the gateway to lahaul, |
| trekking base. A road from shimla, goes up slowly | | | | spiti, leh and ladakh. Rohtang sees plenty of |
| northwest to mandi, a major staging post for the | | | | activity all round the year. The frozen beas kund, |
| state. To the north is himachal’s most popular | | | | the source of the river beas, or chandratal lake |
| tourist destination, the kullu valley is located. Kullu | | | | can be good options one can go for. Wooded |
| is an undulating mass of terraced fields, orchards | | | | forests, snow-covered slopes, open green valleys |
| and forests overlooked by snowy peaks. The | | | | and the fast-flowing beas make manali a ultimate |
| kullu valley extends 80km north from the mouth | | | | destination for mountain adventure sports and |
| of the perilously steep and narrow larji gorge, | | | | most of which you can experience around sohlang |
| near mandi, to the foot of the rohtang | | | | valley, 13km away from manali. |
| pass-gateway to lahaul and ladakh. This is himachal | | | | |